BSI honours the man who set standards in catering equipment

Bryan Whittaker MBE, CESA’s technical consultant, has been honoured by the British Standards Institute (BSI) with a Distinguished Service Certificate. The award is a reward for decades of dedicated and professional service, especially in relation to establishing standards in line with EU directives.

Bryan has served on 30 committees, often as chair, helping to establish standards for a huge variety of machinery and equipment – mostly, of course, in the catering field. He’s worked with CESA for 28 years. Keith Warren, director of CESA, says, “If there’s anyone who can claim to have helped set the standards in health and safety in foodservice equipment and design, it’s Bryan Whittaker. He has done more than anyone else to support the work, and has had a profound influence on the development of UK and European standards.”

“The highlight has to be 2005,” says Bryan. “That was when I was given the MBE for my work on the Machinery Safety Directive. It was no easy task! At the time there was a bit of a tussle between the various European nations involved. But in the end we managed to find a typically British compromise.”

The biggest change over the years has been the move from British to EU standards. “BSI has morphed into CEN and CENELEC,” says Bryan. “The maintenance of standards, and ensuring we are in line with Europe, are key issues facing us with Brexit.”

The Distinguished Service Certificate, which was given to Bryan on August 2nd 2017, states it is “Awarded in appreciation of the valuable contribution to the development of British, European and international standards.”